Safety harnesses are widely used to protect the passengers of vehicles, such as those persons driving cars and piloting aircraft. The purpose of such a harness is to keep the person properly seated and in position during maneuvers and/or when accidents occur. However, there are circumstances when it is imparative that the harness be released with facility, for example when accidents occur and when time is of the essence in extracting the harnessed person from dangerous situations, or to remove an injured person from the harness without further injury. Heretofore, the release of harness hardware has been complicated and awkward, and its release therefore time consuming, requiring more than one single operation in the process of release. And there are many instances where persons have been trapped in vehicles by virtue of the complications in release of the protective harness. Therefore, it is a general object of this invention to provide an improved single operation release for a safety harness, whereby the occupant or rescue party can remove the harness with but one manual operation; the lifting of or depression of a single lever as may be convenient under the particular circumstances.
Safety harnesses vary widely as circumstances require, it being a comprehensive harness with which this invention is particularly concerned. That is, the harness situations which are most critical are those involved with high performance vehicles such as racing cars and with aircraft, where full protection is required. Accordingly, comprehensive harnessing involves lap straps, crotch straps, and shoulder straps as well, and all of which must be releasable; it being an object of this invention to simultaneously release all of said straps with a single manual operation.
Operational accessibility is of prime concern herein, a natural and convenient placement of the release assembly where it is instinctively available for instant manipulation. In practice, the aforesaid lap, crotch and shoulder straps come together at the juncture of the lap and abdomen of the person to be harnessed or unharnessed, as the case may be. And as clearly shown in the drawings, there are five straps connections to be made-up and broken. It is to be understood that each strap is anchored securely to the vehicle (not shown) by an end fitting, one at each side of the legs, one between the legs, and one behind each shoulder. The straps are flexible webbing with adjustment means as will be described.
Security is a requirement, and to this end the release lever is not vulnerable to accidental release, although it is immediately available and accessible for deliberate manipulation. In carrying out this invention, the release lever is anteriorly disposed to project forwardly and upwardly in an obvious fashion, but protected by embracement within a guide. The release lever is employed to lift a pair of spring biased pins that releasably secure the lap straps, the crotch strap being secured to the base of the assembly carrying the lever operated release pins. A feature is the releasable couplings for the shoulder straps and which are slotted to slip over the lap strap couplings and to slide therefrom when said lap strap couplings are released from said pins. Noteworthy is the dual pin combination and individual adjustability of the lap straps at the said coupling therefor.